Charlie Mulgrew fears that Callum McGregor could be a long-term absence at Celtic.
Fans were shocked when the club captain was left out of the matchday squad for Sunday’s shootout win over Rangers, marking the first game this season that McGregor has missed.
Martin O’Neill’s men pushed through to win, but in such a vital part of the season, the injury couldn’t be coming at a worse time.
We don’t have a great deal of information about the injury, but the Mulgrew comments are ominous. What does McGregor’s injury history say?
What can be done to help provide more support for Callum McGregor?
Callum McGregor’s full Celtic injury history
McGregor has become famous for his physical robustness, often playing every minute while available, and rarely sustaining injury.
In the 2018-19 season, a 25-year-old McGregor played 5,849 minutes, more than any other player in the world.
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This remains the most he has played. In the seven seasons since, McGregor has missed roughly 24 games.
In his first season as captain under Ange Postecoglou, McGregor missed two games (11 days) with a facial injury, returning early from the absence with a protective mask.
The midfielder’s longest absence was in the 2022-23 season, when a knee injury sustained against RB Leipzig ruled him out for 77 days.
Mulgrew mentions the Achilles injury, which is rumoured to be his current issue. Last season, McGregor missed Celtic’s 3-2 home defeat to Rangers with an Achilles problem.
That absence saw the captain ruled out for 28 days, though he only missed four games as part of this was the international break.
This issue started almost exactly a year before his current one. Having already missed one fixture, McGregor will have missed another four if he returns 28 days from March 11th.
McGregor’s absence is compounded by the injury to Arne Engels, which is expected to keep the Belgian out until after the international break later this month.
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Charlie Mulgrew on Celtic’s Callum McGregor
Speaking on The Breakdown Podcast, Mulgrew’s comments were: “Apparently it’s his Achilles, I don’t know if that’s the recurring injury from last year.
“Achilles is notoriously an overuse injury. I don’t know how long (he’ll be out for) but knowing Cal, it wouldn’t be a week or ten days I imagine.
“He wouldn’t miss a quarter-final at Ibrox for that. I fear it could be a few weeks and I’m not sure how Celtic can replace him.”
Luke McCowan struggled in the number six role on Sunday, and O’Neill may need to work out a new solution for the coming weeks.
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